Volume 24, Issue 73, January - June, 2023

Flock composition and social behavior in greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) in Haryana

Sarita Rana, Amit Kumar

Department of Zoology, Institute of Integrated and Honours Studies, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana 136119, India

ABSTRACT

Flamingo is a long-legged colonial bird with white plumage sprinkled with pink plumage. It is a state bird of Gujarat where it is found in colonies of millions along wide tracts of etlands of Rann of Kutchch. It is resident species found throughout wetlands of India. The present study was carried out with the following objectives: To assess the social organization in Greater Flamingo and to analyze various behavioral patterns in Greater flamingo in selected sites of Haryana during the period of September 2019 to October 2021. The Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system i.e., drone was used to study the flock composition of Greater Flamingos. To study the behavior of Greater Flamingo Canon SX60 camera was used to record photographs and videography. In the study it was observed that during first year of the study period (from October, 2019 to September, 2020), 287 individuals comprising 68.9% Adult sightings and 31.01% Sub-adult sightings were recorded. Whereas during second year of the study period (from October, 2020 to September, 2021), 4655 Greater flamingo were comprising of 80% Adult sightings and 20% Sub-adult sightings. Increase in flock composition was observed due to stable habitat conditions and perennial wetlands prevailing in Najafgarh Lake and Basai wetland. Resting, wing-leg stretching, drinking water, bathing, sleeping, alert posture, wing-salute, twist preen, inverted wing-salute, broken neck posture, ritual bickering, threatening and hooking were some of the behaviours observed during the present study. The feeding activity was minimal during early morning hours (30.3%) and gradually peaks as the day progresses and get maximum during evening hours. Whereas, resting activity reached at peak during morning hours. These observations contribute great in the conservation strategies of this nearly threatened species as this provides baseline data in restoring the habitat of the species.

Keywords: Flamingo; Phoenicopteridae; feeding activity; behavioral patterns

Species, 2023, 24(73), e8s1008

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v24i73/e8s1008

Published: 25 January 2023